Thursday 14 August 2014 06.17 EDT
First published on Thursday 14 August 2014 06.17 EDT

Technology is moving at a faster rate than we could ever imagine, yet for micro-enterprises and startups, how can technology be used to help catapult them into new markets with new growth opportunities?

A study by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) reported that almost 80% of companies believed that technology plays an essential part in their plans for growth, helping businesses to up their game and reach larger audiences.

One factor that runs throughout all those who have been successful is that technology pulses through the heart of them. The number of enterprises who are digitally engaging their customers be it through social media, online advertising or email marketing are the ones being successful.

The same technology that has made the customer faceless also offers us more information about them than we've ever had access to. Although often a user name can give us little clue to customers' gender, age or location, computer cookies can tell us the important things about our customers – what interests them, disinterests them, whether it is price, size or colour that stops them from making that purchase.

Such information allows a more level playing field for all those in the market, big and small. Where customer insight used to be the privilege of those with large marketing budgets, customer data mining is just as available to SMEs and startups now as their larger competitors. This means the technical savvy enterprise will be able to tap into different markets, tailor content and present wares to markets home and away.

Yet it is not just customers that SMEs and startups now have access to. Where the global supply chain was once only available to those who could afford to court suppliers from abroad, technology has opened the trading doors far and wide. Many smaller enterprises can now virtually shop around from Australia to Armenia to find the best deal and best price at the click of a button.

Also, for many startups and SMEs the lack of heavy infrastructures, past investments, and management teams with set structures means that they can be quicker and more agile for new markets and customers.

Not carrying a legacy of technological networks allows most modern enterprises to have streamlined processes, devices activated on tap and the cloud as their virtual hard drive. Gone are the large overheads associated with equipment, staffing and office space, granting younger corporate contenders equal opportunities to be the first to share their wares in emerging and evolving markets.

Likewise, not having a management team set in their ways or the bureaucracy that comes with larger corporations means decisions can be made faster, speeding up the manufacturing, marketing and ultimately sales cycles.

Smaller enterprises may also be willing to work more collaboratively with their customers. This is particularly apparent in software development, where new entrants to the fold are often happy to co-create new solutions and use the scale of their customers to get quick and customer-ready solutions products to market.

However for many startups and SMEs one of the biggest factors in their success is their attitude to taking risk. With less, or in some cases, little at stake, younger enterprises are more likely to think differently, to try different ways of working, different technological solutions and approaches that help them reach out to new markets.

Technology is all around us. However, there is no doubt that companies who are embracing it will be the ones whose brands will be global household names in 2020 and beyond.

Jo Upward is the managing director of Platform, a brand consultancy that works with Vodafone, British Gas, Rolls Royce and TAG Heuer among others